Bruce Cassidy very direct in his assessment of the Bruins' soft play of late

Playoff hockey can be downright nasty. It's fast-paced, it's physical, it's even chaotic at times. There's a reason why teams go out at the deadline and shop for the players who have a bit of a mean streak to them or who play a much grittier game.

You don't need to be a big player to play with heart and to get under the skin of the opposition. Guys like Duncan Keith, Brad Marchand, Sidney Crosby, Brayden Point and countless others who are not necessarily large in stature have all been in the deepest waters and all of them have risen to the occasion in their own way.

On Saturday, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy looked to send a message to the guys in his locker room to that effect. It's time to start playing with more of a playoff mentality. His team needs more intensity, especially on the back end, and that's precisely the message he communicated to the media ahead of Saturday's matchup against the Ottawa Senators.

When the games start to matter, the energy that his players bring with them into the playoffs will either make them or break them. There's nothing wrong with Cassidy trying to fire up his guys at the midway point of the season.

Another reason for Cassidy's comments - maybe he's trying to send a message to GM Don Sweeney to start working the phones to find him a big, nasty defender to help clear the front of the net and give the opposing forecheckers something else to think about in the offensive zone.

Love this attitude from Cassidy. It's precisely why he's been able to coach this team into the deep waters two times in the last three seasons. Sometimes a coach needs to speak up to wake up his players. This appears to be one of those times.